Legal aid in Malta: who qualifies and how to apply

No fixed deadline for applying, but court time limits keep running while you wait: a defendant must file a sworn reply within twenty days of service (article 158(1) of Cap. 12), so ask for legal aid immediately when you are served. In urgent cases the Advocate for Legal Aid can file judicial acts on your behalf before the benefit is granted (article 911(4)). The means test looks at your income over the twelve months before the request (article 912). An arrested person may ask for a lawyer at once, before questioning (article 355AUA of Cap. 9).

1. Check the means test first. Under article 912(b) of Cap. 12 you must declare on oath that, excluding the subject matter of the case, you do not possess property whose net value reaches €13,000 (or another sum set by ministerial order), not counting everyday household items, and that your yearly income is not more than the national minimum wage for persons of eighteen and over.

   Your main residence is not counted in the asset value, but other property involved in court proceedings may be. Rent paid under a registered lease and maintenance paid under a court order are taken into account, on proof of payment. Income is calculated over the twelve months before the request. If you are just above the limits, the benefit will be refused and you will have to pay a lawyer privately, so gather the figures before you apply.

2. Collect your documents. Legal Aid Malta uses the application form in the Schedule to the Legal Aid Agency (Procedures) Order (S.L. 595.17). It asks for your personal details and household size, the reason you need a legal aid lawyer, and a financial statement: employer and income, social security allowances, maintenance received, bank accounts with balances, investments and property.

   Attach a copy of your identity card or passport, your last payslip if you are employed, and official proof if you receive social assistance. Bring the papers of the case too: the court application served on you, the judicial letter, the lease or the contract in dispute. The Agency may check what you declare against Government databases (regulation 3(3) of S.L. 595.17), so incomplete or inaccurate forms only delay the decision.

3. File the request through Legal Aid Malta. Any request for legal aid is addressed to the Advocate for Legal Aid through the Agency (regulation 3(2) of S.L. 595.17). Agency officers can help you fill in the form, check that the supporting documents are attached, keep you informed of progress and give reasons if the request is rejected (regulation 3(4)).

   The law allows two routes: a written application to the Civil Court, First Hall, which is then referred to the Advocate for Legal Aid, or an oral demand made directly to the Advocate for Legal Aid (article 911(1)–(2) of Cap. 12). In both cases you take an oath, before the registrar or before the Advocate for Legal Aid, confirming the means test and that you believe you have reasonable grounds (article 912).

4. Ask for urgent action if a deadline is close. If a time limit is about to expire, tell the Advocate for Legal Aid at once. Under article 911(4) of Cap. 12 the Advocate for Legal Aid may ask the competent court for authority to file specific urgent judicial acts on your behalf before the benefit is formally granted, for example a sworn reply, a precautionary warrant or a judicial letter to interrupt prescription. The court allows the request unless there are serious reasons against it.

   If the benefit is later excluded, the acts already filed remain valid, but you may be ordered to pay the costs incurred. Do not wait for the formal decree when you have been served with a lawsuit: the twenty-day period for the sworn reply under article 158(1) does not stop because you have applied.

5. Understand the examination of your case. The Advocate for Legal Aid examines the demand summarily and reports whether you have reasonable grounds for taking or defending proceedings (article 914(1) of Cap. 12). If needed, witnesses can be summoned free of charge and heard on oath (article 914(3)–(5)). A defendant at first instance, or a respondent on appeal, is always admitted to defend once the oath under article 912 is taken, without any examination of the merits (article 914(2), proviso).

   A favourable report means you are admitted. An unfavourable report goes to the Civil Court, First Hall, which hears the parties before deciding whether to accept or reject it (article 917). If the court has already refused the benefit for the same action for want of a probabilis causa litigandi, a new request fails unless the circumstances change (article 919).

6. Receive your advocate and legal procurator. Once admitted, the Civil Court, First Hall, assigns you the advocate and the legal procurator whose turn it is on the official rota (article 918 of Cap. 12). You cannot choose a particular lawyer, but for good cause you may ask, through the Advocate for Legal Aid, for a replacement from the rota. If you appeal, the same lawyers continue to act for you.

   The assigned lawyers must act in your best interest, appear whenever your case is called, file the necessary pleadings and may not ask you for any payment (article 925(1)). They remain responsible until the case is finally decided. A lawyer who refuses without good cause can be sanctioned by the court (article 924). Keep in touch with them and give them all documents promptly.

7. Know what the benefit covers and what you may still pay. You are exempt from all court fees and from giving security for costs (article 920(1) of Cap. 12). As plaintiff you give a juratory caution, a sworn promise to pay the other side's costs if you lose and are able to pay. If you lose, the registry cannot claim its fees from the successful party (article 920(2)).

   If you win, the fees of the registry, advocate, legal procurator, curators and referees are paid out of the money or property you recover, and you may recover them from the losing party (article 921). The benefit also applies to the Small Claims Tribunal, the Consumer Claims Tribunal and other adjudicating authorities where the law grants legal aid (article 911(1)), because the decree applies to all of them (article 911(3)).

8. Report changes in your finances. The Civil Court, First Hall, will withdraw the benefit if you possess capital or income above the limits, or if you are proceeding vexatiously (article 923(1) and (3) of Cap. 12). Once deprived, you are personally liable for all costs as if you had never been admitted (article 923(4)).

   If you knowingly hid assets when applying, or failed to report an improvement in your finances during the case, the court may find you in contempt, or refer you to the Court of Magistrates for perjury (article 923(2)). An inheritance, a new job with a higher salary or the sale of property during the proceedings should therefore be reported to the Advocate for Legal Aid without delay.

9. Use the criminal legal aid route if you are arrested or charged. A suspect or accused person has the right of access to a lawyer without undue delay and, at the latest, before police questioning or soon after deprivation of liberty (article 355AUA(2) of the Criminal Code, Cap. 9). When you ask for legal assistance, the police must show you the list of lawyers drawn up by the Chamber of Advocates and the Chamber of Legal Procurators, or you may choose to be assisted by the Advocate for Legal Aid, who will assign a lawyer (article 355AUA(4)).

   The legal aid rules of the Criminal Code apply in particular to persons deprived of liberty and to those required to attend identity parades, confrontations and reconstructions (article 355AU(4)). A police officer who tries to steer you towards a particular lawyer commits an offence (article 355AUA(5)).

10. Apply for cross-border legal aid where relevant. If you live in another EU Member State (except Denmark) and have a civil or commercial dispute in Malta, or you live in Malta and need to litigate elsewhere in the EU, the rules on legal aid in cross-border disputes apply (articles 928A–928B of Cap. 12, transposing Directive 2002/8/EC). Legal aid is granted to applicants who are partially or totally unable to meet the costs of proceedings because of their economic situation.

    Legal Aid Malta acts as the receiving and transmitting authority and helps with translation of the application and supporting documents (regulation 3(4)(b) and (d) of S.L. 595.17). For maintenance claims involving another EU State, a separate set of rules applies under S.L. 460.37 on international maintenance obligations.

• Waiting for the legal aid decree before reacting to a lawsuit. The twenty days for a sworn reply (article 158(1) of Cap. 12) run from service; a defendant who files nothing risks a judgment without having been heard. Ask the Advocate for Legal Aid to file urgently under article 911(4).
• Under-declaring assets or income. The Agency can check Government databases (S.L. 595.17, regulation 3(3)). False declarations lead to loss of the benefit, liability for all costs and possible proceedings for contempt or perjury (article 923).
• Assuming legal aid means the case costs nothing whatever happens. If you win, the lawyers' and registry fees are paid out of what you recover (article 921); if you lose as plaintiff, the juratory caution obliges you to pay the other side's costs if you are able to.
• Forgetting that the benefit is given for a specific claim. Acts filed outside the terms of the admission are null (article 922(1)); only the assigned advocate may adjust the action, without substantially changing the claims.
• Trying to obtain legal aid for a company. Companies registered under the Companies Act are not entitled to it (article 926 of Cap. 12); a sole trader applies as an individual.
• Answering police questions before speaking to a lawyer. The right of access to a lawyer exists before questioning (article 355AUA of Cap. 9); ask for one and have the request recorded in the custody record.

Analyse my document →Legal guideContract templatesCountry home page

Last updated: 03/11/2026 · Sources: Code of Organization and Civil Procedure (Cap. 12), arts 911–926 (admission to sue or defend with the benefit of legal aid), Code of Organization and Civil Procedure (Cap. 12), arts 158 and 928A–928B (sworn reply, legal aid in cross-border disputes), S.L. 595.17 Legal Aid Agency (Procedures) Order, reg. 3 and Schedule (application form), S.L. 595.11 Legal Aid Agency (Establishment) Order (Legal Aid Malta, functions), legislation.mt, EUR-Lex

Explanations are generated from the official legal text and are indicative; only the full text, which every page links to, is binding. Europaius provides legal information, not legal services.